𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬

[ Mannimarco x Reader ]

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　Stress　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

You had been considered a prodigy in your craft. Since the beginning your necromantic abilities had been way more powerful than even people that had tried to gain that power for years, you had been so good at it that even the Worm King had noticed and invited you to his order.

Yet now your feats didn't feel as great as you once believed.

For a while you had been dabbling in flesh magic; you gathered the bodies, did the sacrifice and followed the ritual to the book, but still you couldn't do it. The first days you thought it was just a small bump on the road you'd overcome easily but as the weeks turned into a month and two and you didn't know what you were doing wrong anymore, you began to feel worse and worse, frustration taking a hold of you, and you began to question whether you should be there or not.

Once again you had tried, and now the soul gems and ripped pages with sigils laid crumpled and broken at your feet hurting your bloodied hands.

You fell on your knees with a groan, tears threatening to trickle down from your eyes. The world spun around you and your head hurt like a hammer was pounding in the back of your skull, the knot in your throat almost not letting you breathe anymore, it almost felt like you were drowning.

"What happened here?" You heard a solemn, ghastly voice from behind you, heart beating even faster now that you were in the presence of the Lich King. You rose to your feet and turned to his general direction, but you still didn't meet his gaze. You couldn't.

"Master Mannimarco" you acknowledged his presence and bowed, and while doing so you took a glance at the mess around your feet. Oh shit. Oh fuck, is he going to kill me?. Your thoughts circled around your future as the Order's new lab rat for a while. "I'm sorry, I thought I was capable of handling flesh magic but I've failed so far and..-"

"Hush" he interrupted your talk, and for a while the room was filled with almost absolute silence, only the crackling of the torches echoing through the stone corridors as he circled around you with a wraith like grace, the sheer coldness of his presence enough to make you shiver. "Hmm. No student of mine before has come so close to succeeding." He analyzed everything before him, and whispered a chain of things in what you believed to be old Aldmeris while nodding. You caught a small smile on his face, and your heart skipped a beat.

You let out a squeak when you felt his hands on your face, rather harsh but not painful, making you look up at him.

"Sir, I'm sor..-" you began,but was interrupted once again by his voice.

"Now, now. Don't say anything, don't apologize" his bright eyes, flaming with necrotic magic, stared right into yours, and you felt like the world was ending, but couldn't take your gaze away "This isn't something to be ashamed of. Others could only dream to be capable of doing this."

"Thank you, sir" you whispered, frustration subduing slowly but certainly.

"Let me give you some tips. Direct your flow of magic differently, and check the compatibility of the souls you're using" He said, and you nodded, determined to succeeding in this "Alright. I'm looking forward to you success"

And with a chaste kiss on your forehead, he left you standing in the dark room, a little smile on your face, and a faster, warmer, lighter heart.

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Self indulgent, short thing because I'm flopping at uni 🥺😭